Notre Dame Football Has One Clear Commandment for 2025: Win the Season Opener or Risk Derailing Everything Before It Begins

When the University of Notre Dame takes the field for its 2025 football season opener, it won’t just be chasing victory — it will be chasing history. Because at Notre Dame, winning the first game of the season has never been optional. It’s tradition. It’s expectation. And more often than not, it’s the difference between national contention and national irrelevance.

There are few programs in college football that wear their past as heavily — or as proudly — as Notre Dame. From the shimmering gold helmets to “Play Like A Champion Today” echoing in the tunnel, the Fighting Irish don’t just play football; they honor a legacy. And nothing dishonors that legacy quite like starting the season with a loss. The numbers don’t lie: when Notre Dame wins its season opener, the rest of the season usually follows suit. When it doesn’t, chaos often ensues.

This unwritten rule is etched in the memory of fans and analysts alike. Consider the years that Notre Dame has made serious runs at national titles or found itself in the College Football Playoff conversation. The 1988 national championship team opened the season with a convincing 19-17 win over Michigan. Lou Holtz’s squad rode that momentum all the way to a perfect season. In 2012, a team led by Manti Te’o beat Navy in Dublin, Ireland, to launch a magical 12-0 campaign that didn’t end until the BCS National Championship game. In 2018, Brian Kelly’s crew upset Michigan in Week 1, sparking a season that ended in the College Football Playoff.

These moments weren’t just lucky coincidences. They were the result of setting a tone — a tone that has to be struck from the very first whistle.

Compare those years to the times when the Irish stumbled out of the gate. In 2016, Notre Dame dropped a heartbreaker to Texas in double overtime. The team never recovered, finishing with a 4-8 record and suffering one of the most painful seasons in recent memory. In 2021, a season opener against Florida State almost unraveled, and though the Irish escaped with a win in overtime, the cracks were visible early. They limped through close games against inferior opponents, and the team never truly hit its stride.

The 2023 opener against Navy in Dublin was a return to the tradition of dominance, with new quarterback Sam Hartman looking like a Heisman hopeful in a 42-3 blowout. That win set the Irish on a hot start, and although the season featured its share of ups and downs, the trajectory began with belief.

Now, in 2025, Marcus Freeman enters his fourth season as head coach — and the expectations are at a boiling point. Freeman has recruited exceptionally well. He has connected with the players, built trust with alumni, and added toughness to both the trenches and the schedule. But he hasn’t yet delivered that signature season. If he’s going to change that, he’ll need to respect the same truth that Lou Holtz, Brian Kelly, and Ara Parseghian all came to understand: win Week 1, or spend the rest of the year fighting to be relevant.

The Irish open the 2025 campaign against a fast-rising Cal program. It’s not a traditional rivalry. It’s not a marquee matchup. But it is a trap. Cal’s defense is fast, the offensive line is experienced, and their coaching staff has circled this game in red ink. For Notre Dame, it’s not just another non-conference clash — it’s the launching pad. Or, if taken lightly, the iceberg.

Freeman knows this. He’s seen what happens when a slow start derails a team with elite potential. He watched it in 2022 against Ohio State — a game the Irish battled hard in but ultimately lost 21-10. That early defeat, though respectable, hung over the program like a cloud. It forced them to win out just to sniff the Playoff conversation. The margin for error vanished by Labor Day.

In today’s era of college football, with a 12-team playoff looming and schedule strength under constant scrutiny, the opener is no longer just about momentum — it’s about math. Lose, and you’re playing catch-up not only in the rankings but also in the minds of the Playoff committee. Win, and you’re one of the teams controlling the narrative. That’s a luxury that only a few programs get to enjoy. Notre Dame has to be one of them.

The coaching staff isn’t the only group that understands what’s at stake. Inside the locker room, veterans like linebacker Drake Bowen and quarterback CJ Carr — both likely team captains — have taken it upon themselves to make sure their teammates treat this game like a playoff elimination bout. Because in South Bend, Week 1 often feels that way.

It goes beyond Xs and Os. It’s about belief. When the Irish win their opener, belief floods the locker room. The student body rallies. National media gives Notre Dame the benefit of the doubt. Recruits watch closely. Alumni give a nod of approval. Momentum, more than any stat, defines college football. And in South Bend, momentum is built one way: by winning the first game.

There’s also the psychological toll that a loss in the opener takes. For a team trying to find its rhythm, doubt becomes an unwanted visitor. The media starts circling, dissecting every play-call and substitution. Players second-guess themselves. And while programs like Alabama or Georgia may be able to survive an early stumble thanks to deep SEC schedules, Notre Dame — as an independent — doesn’t have that cushion. Every game matters equally. But some matter more equally than others. The first game is everything.

Marcus Freeman has shown growth each year. His first full season in 2022 ended with a bowl win and a No. 18 ranking. In 2023, the Irish played spoiler and beat USC but fell short against Clemson and Ohio State. In 2024, they flirted with the top 10 but again dropped key games late. Now, with a stacked roster, an emerging quarterback, and a forgiving early schedule, the path is there — if they don’t stumble at the start.

Notre Dame fans don’t expect perfection. They expect effort, class, and excellence. But they also expect wins — especially in the opener. Because everything that happens after that first game is colored by what happened before it.

The echoes of past seasons will fill Notre Dame Stadium when the Irish line up for the first kickoff of 2025. The ghosts of Lou Holtz, Knute Rockne, and the Four Horsemen will watch. The tradition, the pride, and the pressure will converge in one of the most meaningful rituals in college sports: the season opener at Notre Dame.

It won’t decide everything. But it will decide more than most are willing to admit.

Lose, and you begin the long road of justification. Win, and you give yourself the chance to chase greatness — the kind of greatness that only lives in South Bend.

For Notre Dame football, history isn’t just a story. It’s a blueprint. And that blueprint has one line written in bold, unmistakable letters:

Win the season opener. Or else.